Canadian Forestry Journal, January, 191'. 



903 



say a word or two about its value. 

 Think of the many industries in- 

 directly dependent upon the pine 

 lumber trade. Think of yourself, 

 when one of the most important 

 sources of revenue is lost, — what that 

 would mean to you, to your children, 

 to the coming generations. 



Our forest resources are not in- 

 exhaustible. When that was said, 

 nobody gave a thought to such a 

 destructive enemy! The enemy is 

 now within our borders — it has spread 

 during a few years frorn Ontario, 

 where it was first found in Canada, 

 to Quebec. Its spread is alarming, 

 but not beyond control, it is hoped. 

 It has spread also in the United 

 States widely, far more widely than 

 in Canada, so far as is known. 



We know the enemy, we know 

 what it has done in other countries. 

 We must do all we can to prevent the 

 destruction of our white pine re- 

 sources. Most of all, those who are 

 holding white pine sections, should 

 co-operate with the government in 

 its battle against this dangerous foe. 

 Combined effort alone may yet save 

 the situation. Let there be slackness, 

 slowness even, and the disease will 

 defeat our efforts. Twenty years, 

 perhaps fifty, perhaps ten,— who can 

 tell how long it will take this plague 

 to repeat what it accomplished before. 

 Now is our day to do what must be 

 done, and, if we succeed, coming 

 generations, our own children and 

 children's children will thank us for 

 the deed. 



DESCRIPTION OF WHITE PINE BLISTER RUST 



The first and most essential point 

 is to know the disease. If everybody 

 made it his business, when in the 

 woods, every camper, every hunter, 

 every Boy Scout, every lover of our 

 beautiful forests, and, most of all, 

 every forester and wood man, from 

 lumber-jack to owner — to know, re- 

 cognize, and immediately report, 

 where the disease was observed, and, 

 if in doubt he send a specimen to 

 those who know it, then we may hope 

 to cope with it before it is too late. 



The disease is most of all dangerous 

 to the young pine. When it attacks 

 the main stem, — and as many as one 

 hundred separate infections and more 

 have been observed on one tree — and 

 girdles it, which it is sure to do 

 eventually, the tree dies. During 

 May and June each year, this disease 

 can be recognized by any one looking 

 for the following symptoms even if 

 he have no training; later on, only 

 experts can determine it. All know 

 the appearance of the fine smooth 

 dark green bark of stem and branches 

 of this white pine. But does every- 

 body know the white pines from other 

 pines? Of course he knows that the 

 white pines have five needles or leaves 

 in a cluster, while others have but 

 two or three. To make sure of this, 

 he need only cut or pull off a cluster 



of leaves where they are attached to 

 the branch, and count that little 

 cluster held together at the base by a 

 small sheath — if there are five needles 

 it is almost sure to be a white pine — 

 and even if not, (this disease only 

 attacks five-leaved pines) it should 

 be reported nevertheless. 



During May and June, rarely after 

 the middle of June, the disease is 

 most conspicuous on the pine. The 

 formerly smooth dark green bark 

 will be found swollen, puffed up, 

 "blistered," and breaking through 

 the bark will be seen small whitish- 

 orange scale-like bodies of a dusty 

 floury appearance, composed of the 

 spores or seeds of the disease. There 

 may be a few or many at each 

 point of infection. Often times one 

 can see these from a short distance. 

 They may be on any young branch 

 or on the oljder wood, but they dis- 

 appear after June, and only the 

 blister remains, though far less pro- 

 nounced to the casual observer. 



Where the scales had been are 

 often small drops of resin, or gum in 

 the popular phrase, though these are 

 not always present, — (or may be 

 present from other causes,) — since 

 even mechanical injuries to the bark, 

 such as squirrel bites, etc., will cause 

 gumming. In time, this bark be- 



